Traditionally, the architecture for consumer service robots has consisted of a machine that includes all the physical actuators needed for the service tasks, as well as all the perception and computation systems needed to perform the service task. This has resulted in service robots with severe cost and functionality restrictions. Moreover, it has resulted in severe design restrictions, with each robot needing to serve the same function competently within a wide array of facility environments.
In that regard, the robots tended to be singular in purpose and autonomous—in that they do not tend to interact in any service-oriented manner. A service robot could be introduced into a home, for example, and would service the home according to the robot's on-board preset algorithms. To the extent the robot had any real-time adaptability capability, it tended to be limited to object detection and avoidance.